


Kindle

by fikkifini



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future Fish, Chef Nanase Haruka, Drabble, Firefighter Tachibana Makoto, First Meetings, Fluff, I'm sorry I made this up it's not very great, M/M, Meet-Cute, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 05:30:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12675357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fikkifini/pseuds/fikkifini
Summary: Firefighter Makoto responds to a dispatch for an apartment that smells of smoke and the victim inside could possibly be in danger! The routine call goes not exactly as expected though when Makoto realizes his training never prepared him for what to do when the victim is ten times hotter than any fire he's ever faced before.





	Kindle

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from atrashmouthsed on tumblr: I’m not sure what asks you’ve gotten for five yet but Id love to see like a cute first meeting thing. Makoto and Haru don’t know each other, and they meet and it’s like ‘wow your beautiful.’ Sorry this is super vague but just something cheesy would be so great if you would be interested?
> 
> It was super vague but the good news is that gave me a lot of areas to explore for a meet-cute!! I realized I've never properly written in the Future Fish AU so I thought this would be a fun chance to give it a shot. I actually really adore the idea of firefighter makoto coming to Haru's rescue (but don't worry, this drabble is nowhere near that dramatic!). Hopefully it's as cheesy as you wanted? I did my best to really make Makoto the most embarrassing with his terribly obvious flirting haha. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Beta'd by my love anunyun because I love to harass her in the middle of the night to edit my fics <3 thanks darling!

“Nanase Haruka? Are you in there?” Makoto pressed his ear against the door, waiting anxiously for a reply. It didn’t feel warm, and there were no visible signs of smoke coming from the apartment yet, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. He knocked again, this time more insistently. “Hello? It’s the fire department. We got a complaint about a smoke smell coming from this apartment.”

He listened keenly again for any kind of response. That time, he could have sworn he heard a faint, somewhat panicked clanging, almost like... pots or pans? Perhaps the tenant was cooking and lost control of the gas flame, and he was truly in danger! This could be a real emergency and he was just wasting time standing out here knocking so politely. 

With renewed urgency and much more effort, he pounded his fist into the wood.

“Nanase-san, please open up! We’ve received a complaint of something bur.... ning.”

The door swung open suddenly, a strikingly pale man with midnight black hair and the most heart-stopping, breathtaking, magnificent ocean blue eyes standing meekly in the entryway.

“Yes, I’m here,” he sighed, eyes cast down shyly to his apron while he dusted away what appeared to be the charred remains of... something once edible. A thin wisp of smoke leaked from around the corner down the hall, most likely from the kitchen and the cause of this commotion in the first place. Makoto was still too stuck on the whole  _absolutely_   _gorgeous human being standing right in front of me at this very moment_  thing to really notice though. 

“Wow, you’re fine- I mean! Are,  _are_  you fine? Are you okay?” Makoto blurted, fighting the urge to start a real fire and throw himself directly into it after such a stupid blunder. Really, he fought fires for a fucking living without flinching but somehow seeing someone really, super fucking beautiful could make him lose his wits like they never existed in the first place? From down the hall, Makoto’s coworkers were doing all but hiding their laughter at his phrasing, making him flush with embarrassment even more. He cast his most intimidating “ _if you tell the captain I’ll make your deaths look like the perfect accident”_ glare at them before diverting his attention back to said really, super fucking beautiful someone.

“I’m fine,” Nanase insisted, apparently fighting his own blush at the moment as well. “I was just practicing a new cooking technique for class and it... uh, kind of got out of hand.” 

“Cooking technique? Are you a chef?”

Modestly, the shorter man shrugged. “Technically, although it’s probably hard to believe in this state.” He glanced over his shoulder, eyeing apprehensively the haziness wafting from the kitchen.

“That must be a tough career. If it makes you feel better, I’ve gone to five star restaurants for kitchen fires in the past. It happens to everyone at some point. I’m just glad it doesn’t seem to be anything too serious!”

“Y-yeah, just a burnt dinner,” Nanase muttered, his disappointment unmasked. “Sorry for the trouble, must be annoying to have to deal with such a stupid mistake.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” Chuckling, Makoto eyed the smear of some kind of green sauce swiped across Nanase’s nose fondly. The poor guy probably had no idea it was there- which was absolutely adorable, but that was beside the point.  _Smoke_ , Makoto reminded himself diligently,  _there’s smoke in the house. Be professional for two seconds, please._  “Ahem- uh, besides, it seems like there’s enough smoke in here to be of concern, but your fire alarms haven’t been triggered. Mind if I come in and take a look?”  _Smooth. Much better, champ. Now don’t get creepy on him, okay?_

Nanase eyed him cautiously for a moment, but after a decisive nod he swung the door open to usher Makoto inside.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Makoto mumbled, following the smaller man deeper into the apartment. He appraised the small yet tidy space appreciatively while keeping note of any smoke detectors they passed, suppressing the tickle of giddiness in his stomach all the while. “Ah, looks like this one is definitely dead if it hasn’t gone off by now,” he nodded toward the one closest to the kitchen entry and currently clouded by a grey haze of smoke. “Did you not notice when the battery went out?”

“U-um, actually no. I knew it was dead.”

He arched an impressed brow at Nanase. That’s not something people typically fessed up to right in front of a fireman, after all.

“So you just... left it?”

Nanase-san huffed, toeing the floor timidly. “Not exactly,” he clarified before admitting weakly, “I… couldn’t reach. Not even with a chair.”

Oh gods. Adorableness overload. It was just too much, Makoto couldn’t hold it in anymore-

“... Nanase-san?”

“Just Haru,” the other corrected shortly.

“Haru, then. Please excuse me if this is out of line,” Makoto professed in a rush, “but you are ridiculously cute.”

Shit, shit, _shit._ Did he really just say that?  _Really?_  He had to just go and throw away all that hard work and his smooth lines and any kind of positive first impression he might have made with something as creepy sounding as “you’re ridiculously cute”? Not even something a  _little_ more subtle? Or better yet, how about not saying anything at all because every time he does try flirting his stupid mouth gets him into some sort of-

“You think I’m cute?”

Well, that was definitely not the annoyed _or_ entirely weirded-out reaction that Makoto was expecting.

“I’m  _so_  sorry,” he squeaked anyway, scrubbing his face with his gloved hands. “It- it just slipped out! You must think I’m crazy.”

With a shrug, Haru agreed a bit too easily for Makoto’s liking. “I do. But,” he amended, his tone softer, the hint of a reluctant smile in his voice, “I don’t mind it.”

Makoto peered up hopefully through his fingers.

“You… don’t mind that I’m crazy?”

“I don’t mind that you supposedly think I’m cute,” he corrected, “but yes, that too.”

_This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill Makoto, he is actually flirting back with you for some unfathomable reason! Do not panic, please calmly and carefully use your brain when replying. Do NOT speak before thinking. I repeat, do NOT speak before-_

“So you wouldn’t mind if I told you that I think you’re unbelievably beautiful too?”

_Absolutely ridiculous, this is why I can’t trust you with anything._

As expected, Haru looked shocked stiff, wide-eyed with disbelief like a man spooked by a ghost for the first time.

“Shit. I’m sorry, I pushed it. I totally pushed it and I’ll just- I’ll just leave now, okay? I’m really sorry again, that was incredibly unprofessional, I-I don’t know what came over me.” Makoto sighed dismally, turning on his heels to retreat back to the engine. “I won’t bother you again, Nanase-san, please forgive me-”

“Wait!”

Makoto froze mid-step, peering apprehensively over his shoulder at Haru’s beckon. The raven-haired man seemed like he had something very important to say, but was fighting his own lips to actually get the words out.

“Would you… um…” With a gasp of effort, he finally rushed,” Would you like to come by and, ah, change my smoke detector battery sometime?”

Still paralyzed in his surprise, Makoto stared dumbly, the entirety of the Japanese language escaping his mind at the moment.

“W-we can do um, other things too but… I really could use your help with that first. If you don’t mind,” Haru added shyly, positively pink in the cheeks now.

It took a second for Makoto to kick-start his brain, but words were tumbling out of his mouth a mile a minute once he got his lips moving. He whirled around almost as quickly. “Yes! Of course, I would love to come over. To help you. Change your smoke detector batteries, that is!”

“Okay,” Haru graced his vision with the tiniest quirk of his lips, a smile that struck Makoto’s heart downright dead. “Well, you know where I live so…”

“Y-yeah,” Makoto grinned back dumbly. “Ah, when should I come?”

“When does your shift end?”

He checked his watch. Or rather, he checked his right wrist first, with no watch to be found, before remembering in his delusional state which wrist he _always_ wore it on. _Then_ he checked his watch.

“Six p.m., so about three hours.”

“Okay, come over after that. I’ll make you dinner as a thank you for your effort, and… to apologize again for wasting your time,” he gestured to the mess around the corner, clearly still flustered about the fire department getting involved in such a silly mishap.

“No worries,” Makoto shrugged it off, returning Haru’s alluring smirk, “this is a lot nicer than having to walk into a burning building, after all.”

“Mm, I’d imagine so.”

“ _You’re_ a lot nicer than a burning building.”

That seemed to lure a chuckle out of Haru. “I’d really hope so. I try not to be that unwelcoming.”

“No, you’ve been wonderful. Really… really wonderful,” he sighed dreamily. God, there was just no holding back today, huh?

“You should probably go, before you get caught up standing here complimenting me unnecessarily for the next three hours, you know?” Haru diverted the praise away, clearly getting overwhelmed by the amount of flattery being showered upon him. Makoto almost felt bad about it, but on the other hand, he really just couldn’t get enough of that too cute blush painting Haru’s cheeks now.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve already stuck one foot in my mouth, if I keep going I’ll have nothing left to stand on.” Hesitantly, not quite ready to part from that enticing gaze yet, Makoto started to back out, hands shoved shyly into his uniform pockets. “Well, I’ll see you later then Haru.”

“See you.”

“You’ve got batteries, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Perfect… so, should I just knock when I get here?”

Haru snickered a bit louder that time. “As long as you don’t break down the door.”

“Got it,” he affirmed, beaming from ear to ear with glee. “I’ll bring dessert, or flowers, or something- anything you want.”

“Or,” Haru suggested, “how about you just tell me your name and we call it even?”

He liked the sound of that, although that didn’t mean he was going to give up on any of his other offers so easily. “Tachibana Makoto, and I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ to a bottle of wine instead.”

“Hm, I think I can deal with that.” Haru’s stare glowed with intrigue, intense and mysterious, enough to leave Makoto swallowing dryly for air, because _god_ was it getting hot in here or was it just his suit that was absolutely suffocating him at the moment?

He struggled to rasp out a proper reply, lingering if only for a second more, stalling for just a precious moment longer. “Okay well… I’ll be back then. In three hours. Maybe less if I can’t wait.”

Haru turned away, hiding his flush behind his fringe uselessly, since Makoto could still very clearly see it and was very clearly enraptured by it as well. “Get back to work, idiot.”

“Nn. Bye, Haru.”

“Goodbye, Makoto.”

That subtle little side smile could slay an army, Makoto was sure of it. If not, it could at least make anyone’s knees weak, like his very own were now as he practically wobbled out the door.

When he finally made it back to the engine outside, the boys made sure to give him hell for taking such a long time for a routine smoke detector check, although the wizened smirks on their faces were plenty indication that they knew exactly what he had been up to all along. Makoto brushed their teasing off, hopping into the passenger seat and strapping in while appeasing their insinuating questions with little more than a light chuckle and halfhearted denials of their accusations. After all, his own irrepressible grin told the whole story anyway. He couldn’t hide his delight and excitement even if his job, or better yet, his very _existence_ depended on it.

He chewed his lip, staring out the window as buildings and cars began to blur by, tapping his fingers anxiously against his own thigh. His cheeks burned from smiling so much.

Shit, his heart throbbed in his chest, the allure of ocean blue sapphires clouding over his vision in no time. He checked his watch again, then once more just for good measure, and began eagerly counting down the seconds.

Six o’clock just couldn’t come fast enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I really like this AU, maybe one day if I can ever come up with a proper plot I'll continue it for a few chapters or extra drabbles!
> 
> Thanks for reading <3


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